A passenger ferry is celebrating ten years of service on the River Tyne.

The newer of the two Shields ferries, the Spirit of the Tyne, has operated between North Shields and South Shields for a decade, carrying millions of passengers.

Nexus, the public body which owns and operates the cross-Tyne Shields Ferry, invested £1.9m to purchase the vessel in 2005.

There was controversy at the time as the contract was awarded to a shipyard on the south coast of England, and not one on the Tyne.

The Shieldsman was launched in 1976 and operated for 31 years. She was taken out of service in 2007 and was sold to private buyer on the South Coast of England. She was sold in 2009, then sold again 2010 and moved to a mooring on the River Adur in Shoreham-by-Sea where she has since been converted into a houseboat.

This was due to Nexus being publicly funded and they had to go for the lowest possible quote to deliver best value.

The Spirit, as she is often referred to, was officially named by Her Royal Highness Princess Anne during a civic ceremony at South Shields Ferry landing on March 1, 2007.

A competition was held for people to choose the ferry’s name.

The new ferry replaced the Shieldsman, the former Tyne ferry, which saw 30 years of service on the river.

The newest Shields Ferry, Spirit of the Tyne, was launched into service in April 2007 when she was named by HRH The Princess Royal

She now operates alongside the Pride of the Tyne, which was launched in 1993 and was the last Tyne ferry to be built at Swan Hunter shipyard.

Shields Ferry Manager, Carol Timlin, said: “The Spirit of the Tyne has given our passengers excellent service over the decade, and she’s got plenty more years ahead of her too.